The Smile That Changed Everything: Haleon and Smile Train in Action

Ali Nawaz and Subhan were introduced and married when each was around 20. Their families arranged their union, but they worked hard at it, and soon enough cultivated a love that was all their own. It grew as their family did, until they had both in abundance.

In 2017, the family received wonderful news: Subhan was pregnant with their eighth and ninth children — twins!

However, the same ultrasound that first showed Subhan her new daughters-to-be also left her shaken. Pointing to the fuzzy, fidgeting figures on the screen, the technician noted that one seemed to be weaker than her sister.

Subhan could only take a breath, and labor on with faith, just as she had always done when life seemed out of her control.

A Birth at Home, and a Moment that Changed Everything

Even with anxiety about her baby’s health, Subhan gave birth at home. Their village was far from the nearest hospital, and the family knew they couldn’t afford medical care.

Waheeda was born first. Subhan took one look at her daughter’s face and saw something she had never seen before — a cleft.

“I cried a lot, thinking of her future,” Subhan said.

Ali Nawaz was working at the mill when he got the call. When he came home and saw Waheeda’s cleft, he felt deep concern for his daughter and rushed to hold both newborn girls.

Feeding Was a Daily Battle

Waheeda’s twin sister, Saeeda, was born healthy, which gave Subhan more time to focus on Waheeda’s needs.

Their village had no medical facility equipped for cleft care — only a small dispensary offering basic medicine. The Pakistani government provided Subhan with two specialized feeders, but even with them, feeding Waheeda was an hourly struggle.

Babies born with cleft lips and palates are more than twice as likely to be malnourished, according to this Smile Train report.

The family tried everything they could to give Waheeda the nourishment she so needed. Subhan or one of her children would spend hours giving her milk drop by drop, yet she still cried with hunger.

Subhan cried with her.

Growing Up with Stigma and No Path to Care

Waheeda survived infancy thanks to her family’s love, patience, and persistence. But as she grew, she faced stigma from other children, including mocking and cruel name-calling related to her speech.

“Life was already hard, and this condition made it harder,” Subhan said. “Waheeda would ask me why she was born this way, and I tried to console her.

Outside doctors occasionally came to the Punjab to provide cleft surgeries, but the family could not afford to miss work. They were never able to reach the operation site before the group left.

“Those years were heavy on our hearts,” Ali Nawaz said.

Finding Cleft Surgery – Right When They Needed It

In January 2025, when Waheeda was eight, their neighbor Hakim informed the family of an opportunity for children with clefts to be taken to a city hospital in the region for surgery, free of charge.

For two months, Waheeda, Subhan, and Hakim prepared for the trip: arranging childcare, coordinating with teachers, preserving food, and saving what money they could. When the time finally came, they took a rickshaw through the night to Taha Plastic Surgery Clinic, a Smile Train partner in Mehar supported by Haleon.

When Waheeda walked through the clinic doors, she saw other people who looked like her.  For the first time, she understood she wasn’t alone.

Disoriented but not at all tired, Waheeda ran to meet the nurse when she called her name.

How Smile Train’s Model Reaches Families Like Waheeda’s

This is the advantage of Smile Train’s unique, sustainable model. Instead of relying on fly-in, fly-out foreign medical teams, Smile Train trains and empowers local medical professionals in 75+ countries to provide free, high-quality, comprehensive cleft care, so children and families can get support when they need it.

Thanks to Smile Train donors and corporate partners like Haleon, children like Waheeda can receive life-changing care they need to thrive, including:

• Free primary and follow-up cleft surgeries
• Speech therapy
• Nutritional support
• Specialized orthodontic and dental care
• Psychosocial therapy

Through Smile Train’s long-standing partnership with Haleon, a global leader in consumer health, donor support goes even further, multiplying impact and ensuring more families can access high-quality cleft care and essential follow-up services. Waheeda’s surgery is one powerful example of what Haleon’s generosity makes possible.

Coming Home with a Healed Smile – and a New Confidence

Three days after leaving home, Waheeda returned to her village with a new smile and renewed confidence.

“People who had once mocked us now came to see her and were amazed,” Subhan said.

Now, Waheeda speaks and is understood. She eats and swallows her food. She is often outside playing with her friends.

After years of navigating the medical and social difficulties that come with an untreated cleft, Waheeda now has a brighter future, made possible by the generosity of Smile Train donors and Haleon.

A Message to Other Parents

Reflecting on her family’s experience, Subhan said:

I tell other mothers never to lose hope. Even when people laugh, even when you cry in fear, remember that God opens doors. There is help available.

“From my heart, I thank Smile Train and Haleon and all who support this work,” Ali Nawaz said. “They changed our lives.”